As with many great hymns of the faith, every element of “Joy to the World,” the words, the music, its history in the church, contains excellent examples of Christian living.

Let’s start with the words. Isaac Watts was an Englishman and “nonconformist” preacher in Anglican England. In 1712, an illness forced Watts to quit his preaching and he began to pursue other talents. Throughout his 74 years, Watts composed the texts to 509 hymns. He wrote several books of poems including The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament. The text for Joy to the World comes from The Psalms of David and is Watts’ interpretation of Psalm 98:2-9: “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music (v4).” Watts gave this poem a heading: “Messiah’s Coming and Kingdom.”

Lowell Mason, the composer of the tune, is a seminal figure in American Christian hymnody. Often known as a Bostonian, Mason spent his formative years in Savannah. An avid musical history buff, Mason based most of his tunes on melodies of Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, and Handel. He composed at least 74 tunes, many of which are still sung by churches each Sunday. A testimony of Christian influence in the world – Mason is the founder of musical education in the Public School systems of America.

The tune, ANTIOCH, was first reference in a book of hymns (Occasional Psalm and Hymn Tunes, 1836) edited by Mason with the inscription “Joy to the World: tune from Handel.” The name for the tune comes from Acts 11:26, “The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” While the tune is not entirely Handel’s, Mason did borrow several motives from Handel’s most popular work The Messiah, including the open in phrase of “Glory to God,” musical interlude in “Comfort Ye,” and the motive throughout “Lift Up Your Heads.”

1 Joy to the world; the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing.

2 Joy to the earth, the Saviour reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains,
Repeat the sounding joy.

3 No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make his blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.

4 He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness,
And wonders of his love.